November 19, 1997
At the regular meeting of the Shaker Heights Board of Education on November 18, 1997, the
Superintendent reported the following:
• For the fourth consecutive year, Shaker Heights High School has more National Merit
Semifinalists than any other public high school in Ohio, and ranks second among all Ohio
schools, public and private. Forty-nine Shaker students have earned honors in the 1997 National
Merit and National Achievement scholarship competitions. More than 1.1 million high school
students in 20,000 high schools across the country entered the 43rd annual National Merit
Program this year by taking the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship
Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) last spring. The National Merit Semifinalists represent the top
one percent of each state’s high school graduating classes. Each Semifinalist may now continue
in the competition with the possibility of earning one of more than approximately 7,400 Merit
Scholarships, worth about $28 million total. The similarly structured National Achievement
program honors the nation’s top African-American students. The NMSC also recognizes
Commended Students who also scored exceptionally high on the test. These students, while not
eligible for Merit Scholarships, are strong candidates for admission to selective colleges and
universities. Shaker’s 22 National Merit Semifinalists for 1997 are Lindsay Campbell, Todd
Dolinsky, Amber Drechsler, Mark Entel, Isaac Feitler, Grace Fuller, Adam Hill, Emily
Hoffman, Daniel Homans, Paul Ip, Erik Johnson, Matthew Keay, Eric Limbach, Ross
McDevitt, Elizabeth McFarlane, Celeste Ng, Jakob Rinderknecht, Madeleine Saran,
Kristan Shenk, Steven Shuck, Evan Walsh and Jed Wolpaw. The 22 National Merit
Commended Students are Eric Bahna, Catarina Campbell, Nicole Dorsky, Gregory Ferreri,
Mark Gurarie, David Hauser, Briana Hensold, Hilary Jacqmin, Jorianne Jernberg, Lisa
Lazarus, Maura Malone, Camille Monnier, Beth Moore, Jamie O’Brien, Killian O’Brien,
David Roth, John Sawyer, Sarah Siegel, Heather Singerman, Tim Stenta, Jennifer Wallace
and Kerry Wallach. Killian O’Brien is a National Achievement Semifinalist, and Shaker’s five
National Achievement Commended Students are Marissa Clark, Erron Combs, Harry
Hanson, Faisal Khan and Brad Picot.
• Seventy-seven Shaker Heights High School students and 1997 graduates have been named
Advanced Placement Scholars by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional
achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Only about 13 percent of the
more than 581,000 students who took the AP exams in May performed at a sufficiently high
level to merit such recognition. The Shaker AP National Scholars are Amrita Ahuja, Alisa
Beck, Shelli Calland, Lauren Nuechterlein, Matthew Turnell, Wallis Wilkinson and
Matthew Youngner. The AP Scholars with Distinction are Amrita Ahuja, Nawal Atwan,
Alisa Beck, Joshua Berezin, Miles Berger, Holly Bosley, Shelli Calland, Philip Chung,
Andrew Davis, David Deming, Marie Frisof, Peleg Horowitz, Lindsay Karfeld, Sara
Kaufman, Erica Labovitz, Graham Lanz, Grayden MacLennan, Richard McCormack,
Celeste Ng, Lauren Nuechterlein, Alexander Rawson, Mark Samols, Madeleine Saran,
Schuyler Schmidt, Andrew Sher, Matthew Turnell, Brian Wamsley, Jessica Weeks, Wallis
Wilkinson, Matthew Youngner and Rachel Zinn. The AP Scholars with Honors are Elizabeth
Cameron, Michael Cohen, Isaac Feitler, Ruth Fischer, Matthew Henoch, Yoon-Jae Hwang,
Amy Johnson, Erik Johnson, Michael Malangoni, Beth Moore, Kyle Ribar, Jakob
Rinderknecht, Steven Shuck, Han Wang and Jed Wolpaw. Shaker’s AP Scholars are Sarah
Abbott, Lindsay Block, Daniel Brunengraber, Maria Casal, Todd Dolinsky, Amber
Drechsler, Richie Duchon, Mark Entel, Grace Fuller, Scott Fuller, Celina Green, Briana
Hensold, Adam Hill, Emily Hoffman, Caecilia Hubbard, Paul Ip, Mercedes Long, Andrew
Malone, Maura Malone, Jeffrey Mann, Brendan Masini, Jeffrey Matthias, Ross McDevitt,
Linsey Molloy, Danielle Moran, Samuel Root, Kelly Roth, Edward Sackman, Kristan
Shenk, Jennie Streem, Richard Szmola, Glen Tetzlaff and Philip Toomajian. Just one male
and one female high school student in each state are designated AP State Scholars. This year,
Shaker Heights boasts both AP State Scholars for Ohio: they are Shelli Calland and Matthew
Youngner.
• Shaker’s High School and Middle School athletic teams enjoyed an outstanding Fall season,
with some 500 students participating on 25 interscholastic teams at the 7th grade, 8th grade, 9th
grade, junior varsity and varsity levels. Three varsity teams brought home Lake Erie League
(LEL) Championships. At Shaker Heights High School, the men’s varsity football team went 102, won the LEL and qualified for the playoffs for the second time in four years. The women’s
varsity volleyball team also brought home the LEL Championship and was District runner-up.
The women’s varsity tennis team compiled a 15-7 record and won the League Championship.
The women’s JV tennis team finished 15-1, while the Middle School women’s tennis team had a
7-3 season and finished second in the East Suburban Middle School League. The men’s varsity
soccer team kicked its way to a 10-6-2 season and the Sectional finals. The women’s varsity
soccer team had a splendid season, finishing 12-3-2, while the women’s JV squad went 9-4-2. In
women’s field hockey, the varsity finished 8-6-2, while the JV team went 13-1-2 and the Middle
School team turned in a 6-2-1 record, finishing second in the East Suburban Middle School
League.
• Voters overwhelmingly approved the Shaker Heights Public Library’s levy request on Election
Day. The three replacement mills and one additional mill will enable the Library to meet
growing service needs and to provide programming in areas undergoing renovation. Library
Director Francis J. Buckley has announced that he is departing to become Superintendent of
Documents for the U.S. Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.
• Forty Middle School students took to the stage on November 7, performing in “Starlight Café,”
a Shaker Theater original revue. The production was directed by Elizabeth Blakeslee-Vokes of
the Middle School music department and John Morris of the High School’s English and drama
departments, with assistance from High School students.
• Several hundred parents, residents, and prospective residents visited the Shaker Heights schools
on Tour Your Schools Day, October 23. In addition, approximately 40 real estate professionals
were welcomed to the Middle School for a briefing and tour. They were treated to a breakfast
prepared and served by students in 8th grade foods classes, a technology demonstration, and
classroom visits.
The Board of Education heard the following:
• A presentation on reading instruction in 1st grade by Mercer teachers Cynthia Campbell,
Marybeth Eakin, Savannah Harbison, Karen Shiba, and Hallie Stewart.
The Board of Education approved the following:
• Personnel actions, including appointments, temporary employees, tutors, substitutes, special
assignments, salary reclassifications, supplemental contracts, and resignations for both certified
and classified employees.
• A resolution expressing the District’s interest in participating in the Ohio School Council’s
Electricity Purchase Program.
• Policy AE, Instructional Goals and Objectives.
• Financial statements for October 1997, interim investments, and supplemental appropriations to
accommodate grants from the ESEA Title I Program, the Ohio SchoolNet Plus program, and the
Textbook/Instructional Material Subsidy Program.
• Purpose, Goals, and Budget for eight student activities at Shaker Heights High School.
• Adoption of the tax rate for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 1998, in accordance with the
previously adopted tax budget.